Make Friends with Strangers - AWESOME results

So....I stopped into my local fabric department the other day, and met a couple of strangers who were just browsing as I was. Before I knew it, we were engaged in a discussion of projects we wanted to start, and I picked up a neat idea from them.

Do you know those pricey scarves all the fashion stores and catalogs now show? Well, here's a simple, less costly alternative. Have you noticed how I love do-it-yourself?

Pretty fabric, in shades of exactly what you are looking for, sewn into a long tube. Unbelievably easy, and oh - such a nice fashion touch!!!!!

Is there really a drive for creative people?

I took one of those silly tests today to determine my right-brain vs. left-brain balance. It asked lots of curious questions that seemed of no significance, until I saw the results:

Yes - I am right-brain driven, 55% over my left-brain (my poor left side only works 45% of the time!)

Anyway, all it did was confirm that I really do enjoy thinking outside of the box - often doing these things in some solitary setting, picturing the outcome clearly before I begin.

I've had a series of "inventive" moments the past few weeks. I can only describe them as: an overwhelming desire to dig into a project, at the expense of everything else, including food.

Here is a toy from my children's toddler days and redesigned into a working, musical instrument/wall hanging. This was once a xylophone that used to rest on a foam rubber mat and was played by a toy wooden mallot. The chime sound was delightful and it (and the nostalgia) has lived in our attic for over 35 years. I had my husband drill some holes in each pipe; I then strung them with fishing line to permit the sound to resonate, and hung them from an interesting tree limb. It actually plays music, and can be used as a dinner bell.......or anything else you can play within an octave.

I was practicing "green" way before the term was invented, so recycling is nothing new to me. In the winter, I feed

the birds fat drippings that I have saved in plastic containers all year.

I've been trying to come up with a way to scrape the saved suet into an outdoor container when the time comes.....and here is this week's invention.

Rinsed out tuna cans make the perfect container, nailed to another interesting tree limb (for the reality factor), and hanging from a sturdy eye hook. It took about 15 minutes for the chickadees to notice this and start visiting their new triple-decker deli. I like quick successes. Ahhh, I do LOVE the 55% of me.

The Season of Giving

It was a busy Christmas season for my creative juices. My youngest grand-daughter wanted a purse. But finding an appropriate style for a 7 year old without all those "Dora" emblems or "Kitty" faces was impossible. So I decided to make her one.

I first watched a tutorial at http://www.lazygirldesigns.com , then made some editorial changes, and came up with this. Her favorite colors with a bit of 'little girl fantasy' will be just the ticket.

Well, that was fun, so I kept going.

Her older sister has a selection of purses, each of them from the typical haunts, but I bet her friends will be wanting a unique one like this for their collection. Just the thing for an early teen who carries only a few items to school.

Wow - after a few hours, I was really excited about digging through my stash to find coordinating fabrics for little girl purses.

A friend thought the concept was great for adults as well.

So as I work out some kinks and discover assembly techniques that work best for me.....stay tuned.

Here is the outcome of my purse adventure: The green/orange for a 9 year old; the small yellow has a velcro closure for her 3 year old sister; the purple stars for my 7 year old; and the more sophisticated Laura Burch fabric to my teen. Merry Christmas to my little princesses!!!

In between the stitch-witchery above, I was also doing zentangles. All four of our younger grandchildren received a matted and framed depiction of their name to hang on the wall.

As each zen was developing, the child's personality worked itself into the artwork - none of it planned in advance. These take hours to complete, and represent a lot of thoughtful contemplation of the child (maybe the best part!)

Left) A completed work - lots of movement in this particular piece.

Below) A detail of another piece, as it nears the end.

The start - and the finish, representing about 3-4 days of design and execution. What I find special about zens is the unique character of them. Even the most critical can find some nugget to enjoy about the doodle. This was a very satisfying season of giving! I hope I've inspired you to create unique, one-of-a-kind gifts for yours.

Pinwheels

I love pinwheels in quilts. One of my first quilting challenges when I began this journey years ago was creating an overall pinwheel quilt for a girlfriend's surprise birthday gift. Midway in my project, she announced to me that she was redecorating and changing her color scheme. Fortunately, I still had time to make adjustments to my work - and it all ended well. But by they time I finished 72 pinwheel blocks, I was an avid and accomplished enthusiast.

So when my art quilt group, ARTAA, decided to provide Christmas gifts to the residents of the nursing home where we meet, I immediately thought of pinwheels. I planned a black and white color scheme, but it became evident rather quickly that more color was needed. Perhaps this is a bit of overkill, but I like to think the outcome has a generally sunny disposition. Our quilts were very welcome!!! I wonder who got this one.........

Documenting the weather!!

I was thinking about change the other day: how children change - older folks change - our interests change - and even our relationships change. But having the advantage of living in one beautiful spot for many years gives another perspective on change: change is lovely, change has many creative faces, and change can bring inspiration and constancy all at once, in the same breath.

Living near water, no matter what its type, is an adventure. The transitions can be moment to moment, and add to the mood of each day. This view is easy to capture from the deck of my home and shows some comparisons for your weather/mood-watching enjoyment.

Bright sunlight seldom arrives in conjunction with a thunderstorm, but the pretty vision (above) emerged just as the other side of my world crashed violently into lightening, claps of thunder and near total blackness. The sunbeam was gone in a flash, but it's memory lives on in this image and the smells of rain when mixed with excessive heat.

A torrential downpour can sure be dramatic. It stirs the heart, and makes the warm safety of indoors a welcome space. The rinse brings freshness to the air.

But nothing beats the moments of light that turn the pretty into extraordinary! With so many photos in this category, each hoping to savor the light for another time, none conveys the real-time feeling of amazement.

And finally, we'll be waiting for this scene, coming soon, and worthy of some B&W artwork to depict the harshness of winter. Incredibly, the snow and drifting cold of winter months is particularly soothing for the hunker-down emotions. Time for homemade soups, hot chocolate, crackling fires and a good book. And definitely a bit of art!

"All is flux, nothing stays still. Nothing endures but change." from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers.

Productive Doodles

Hello everyone - yes, I'm still here. Its been weeks since I've been more creative than packing an efficient suitcase or sorting through travel brochures. We were away and that plays havoc with the muse....but there were still moments when I just had to doodle. Here is the start of a "zentangle" featuring the letter K.

A zentangle can be anything you make of it. You fill sections of your drawing with designs, patterns, scenery, or in some cases, color. Everything is possible or welcome, with as much detail as you want - there are no mistakes. I like art like that!!!

During "the Winter that WAS...."

With over 72" of snowfall in the Albany area this January and February, many art venues and gallery events struggled to stay on schedule. We can relate! But our second reception on February 3rd, at the kindness of Family and Children's Service of the Capital Region (FCSCR), was well attended. We were so impressed by the distances people traveled to see our exhibit and loved talking with so many folks; thanks to friends from the Berkshires and the Adirondacks for making the evening event.

Here some of our visitors from the lower Hudson Valley appreciate the variety and color in our exhibit.

Many thanks are extended to Janet Tanguay of Art 'n Soul and the staff at FCSCR for making it such an enjoyable experience.